


The Enemy You Never Knew

by LiterallyThePresident



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast), Wolf 359 (Radio)
Genre: Angst, But it isn’t really Jon’s fault this time, I basically just shatter Martin’s heart, M/M, Unrequited Love, be warned, mostly - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2020-02-29 07:04:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18773674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiterallyThePresident/pseuds/LiterallyThePresident
Summary: The unfamiliar man held himself with a confidence that Martin could only dream of, even when in a hospital room. He glanced at Martin when he entered, seeming to size him up with just a glance.His fingers were tangled in Jon’s limp ones. Martin’s heart dropped to the floor.





	The Enemy You Never Knew

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y’all, I’m back on my bullshit, this ship train continues once more

Visiting Jon had become a part of Martin’s routine. He would visit after work, walk to the hospital and sit by Jon’s bedside, sometimes talking and sometimes reading quietly. He knew every sound of the hospital, every beep and whisper, every murmured voice. Deviation from the routine was almost nonexistent, so Martin was a bit taken aback when he arrived to find that Jon already had a visitor. He approached his room cautiously, his concern growing when he saw that the door to his room was closed. That door was never closed. Frowning, he reached his hand out to the doorknob. 

“I heard you blew up a building.” a voice that Martin didn’t recognize murmured from behind the door, making Martin pause, “Jon, I thought I was supposed to be the pyro here, you idiot.” The voice was not only unfamiliar, but American. Martin’s gut twisted slightly. Last time any American was involved, Jon had been kidnapped. Multiple times. No way in hell was he letting _anyone_ take  Jon away again. Taking a deep breath and steeling his resolve, he opened the door. 

He immediately wished he hadn’t.

The unfamiliar man was handsome. Ruggedly so, even with the large burn that took up a good portion of his left side. His dark complexion and muscled arms put Martin’s pale chubbiness to shame. He held himself with a confidence that Martin could only dream of, even when in a hospital room. He glanced at Martin when he entered, seeming to size him up with just a glance. 

His fingers were tangled in Jon’s limp ones. Martin’s heart dropped to the floor. 

The man straightened and pulled his hand away, but the image was burned into Martin’s mind. He gripped the doorknob so hard his knuckles turned white, trying not to get jealous. He had no right to be jealous, because Jon wasn’t his, would likely never _be_ his.  If the man noticed his inner turmoil, he didn’t say anything. He simply raised an eyebrow as if waiting for Martin to speak. It... took him a moment.

“Who are you?” he demanded, and then tried again with less aggression, “Are you a... a friend of Jon’s?”

“Yeah. A... friend.” the man shrugged, “Name’s Jacobi. Daniel Jacobi. You must be Martin Blackwood.”

“How do you know that?” he asked with wide eyes, and the man called Daniel Jacobi grinned.

“I have my ways.” he said, “I know Jon, and I know Jon’s friends. You, Stoker, King, James. You should really hide your information better, you know. I’d hate for any of you to put Jon in any danger.”

“What do you want?” Martine glared, “If you’re someone else who wants to hurt Jon-“

“Relax.” he rolled his eyes, “Like I said, he’s a friend. I could even say more than a friend, we dated for a long time.” Martin’s heart clenched in his chest at the confirmation. Of course. Of course Jon’s type was a handsome and probably dangerous man like this. He’d never even look at quiet mousy Martin with his nervous demeanor and soft stomach. He tried not to feel bitter. He failed.

“I see.” he said, mouth dry and eyes pricking unfairly, “H-He’s never mentioned you.” he said, feeling a little petty. Jacobi didn’t seem bothered, chuckling slightly.

“Sounds like him. Evasive fuck.” he smiled. He’d taken Jon’s hand again, his thumb stroking the back of it idly, like he wasn’t even aware he was doing it. Or maybe he was, and he enjoyed taunting Martin. It made his blood boil to see some stranger touch Jon so freely.

“How do I know you’re even telling the truth?” Martin scowled, “For all I know, you’re lying.”

“Why would I lie?” he rolled his eyes, “What kind of proof do you need? I have photos of us, I have stories from university, I can tell you his allergies and favorite things, I can even tell you the names of all his exes, the most recent being Georgie Barker.” Martin scowled, though he was unnerved at how much this stranger knew.

“That-That’s all information you could have easily looked up!” Jacobi rolled his eyes again and pulled out his phone, scrolling through it as if looking for something. 

“Jeez, Jon, you sure know how to pick the needy ones.” he muttered, and Martin pretended like the comment hadn’t stung. Eventually Jacobi held up his phone to Martin, the screen displaying a photo of Jon and Jacobi, both of them looking younger and happier, less worn by the trials of time. Jacobi had his arm slung around Jon’s shoulders and was grinning broadly at the camera, and Jon was flushing slightly and covering his face with embarrassment. But Martin could see the corner of his lips turned up. He felt tears prickle anew, and ruthlessly shoved them down.

“Could have been photoshopped.” he muttered, but even he could tell that it wasn’t. Jacobi snorted.

“Whatever floats your boat.” he took Jon’s hand again, “But let me tell you, my friend, you’re not the only one who needs Jon right now.”

“What’s that supposed to mean.” he itched to kick Jacobi out of what he’d started to think of as _his_  chair . This arrogant man had no right to waltz in here and act like he was entitled to Jon’s time, to usurp Martin’s place in his life like he belonged there. Jacobi’s eyes tightened, like he was remembering something painful, and Martin had a moment of cruel vindication before hot shame rapidly rushed to fill its place. Jacobi didn’t seem to notice. 

“I get back from a _very_ trying  assignment that cost me my two best friends in the world.” he said quietly, “And I come to London looking for one of the only real friends I have left, only to find that he’s in a god damned coma because he blew up a fucking building in a move that, ironically, I’d be proud of in any other situation.” he gave a short, bitter laugh, squeezing Jon’s hand tighter, “And I don’t even know why he did it. Everything I dig up on it is so damned cryptic, I can’t make sense of it. He... He left me a message on a fucking tape recorder, and all it did was make things even more confusing!”

“He... left you a message?” Martin asked, his voice maybe cracking a bit. Jacobi nodded.

“He didn’t leave you one? Shame.” Martin almost bristled, but he was tired. He just wanted this stranger to leave. He just wanted Jon to wake up and make everything okay again. Or at least, okay as things could be.

“Don’t... Just... what did it say?” Jacobi shot him a glance, seeming to examine him with a critical eye before coming to some sort of conclusion. 

“Maybe you can make sense of it.” he finally sighed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a tape recorder, “Because fuck if I know what an Unknowing is.” He clicked the recorder on, and Jon’s exhausted voice filled the room. Something in Martin eased at the sound of his voice, despite the circumstances.

“ _Daniel_ .” Jon started, “ _I’m not entirely sure how to put this, but I will tell you that the world is a much darker place than even we could have fathomed. There are... forces, at work. Terrible ones. I’m working on stopping one as we speak, but it’s seeming more and more like I’m going to have to take a page out of your book and just molotov my problems away_ _._ ” he gave a soft laugh, and Martin’s heart ached to hear the sound, “ _Remember that time in uni where you said to me, and pardon my American accent, I’ve been rather out of practice as of late, ‘Jonny, there’s no problem in the world that a metric fuckton of C-4 can’t solve’. I rolled my eyes at the time, but, well... You were always braver than I. But I’m rambling. The point is, I don’t know if I’ll be surviving this. So I guess this is me, being dramatic. Figured you would appreciate it_ .”

“I always told him he needed to be more impulsive.” Jacobi laughed softly, “Not like this, though, this would have been nice to not have happened.” 

“ _So, hopefully I’ll survive what’s coming, and you’ll never hear this. But just in case I don’t...._ ” Jon seemed to pause a moment, and then, “ _I... I love you, Daniel. I don’t believe I’ve ever stopped loving you. You never make anything easy, do you, insufferable man? So just... if you get this... make sure to live well, okay? Live for my sake. Live for the man who could never get over you_ .”

Martin’s heart shattered, and the jagged pieces cut at his lungs until he could barely breathe. His eyes were burning, and he couldn’t have stopped the tears falling if he tried. Jon’s words echoed in his head.  _ I love you, I love you, I love you  **Daniel**_. The words he’d always longed to hear Jon say, finally granted to him with the cruelest of twists.  The tape continued, Jon talking about the ritual and something about learning how to handle explosives from Daniel, but Martin wasn’t listening anymore. 

He’d known. He’d always known he’d never have a chance with Jon. Jon was untouchable, a distant star, so far out of his league it wasn’t funny. And yet... And yet he’d hoped... He’d clung to that hope that maybe someday they could...

Stupid. Stupid Martin. You blind goddamn fool.

“I... I have to go.” he whispered, and Jacobi sighed.

“So you did love him.” he shook his head, “I was kinda hoping that was just office gossip. Uh... sorry, man.”

“No, I... I-It’s no one’s fault but my own, I suppose.” he took a shaky breath, knowing he must look a right mess, “God, I must look pathetic, I-I-“

“Hey.” Jacobi patted his shoulder awkwardly, and Martin wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all, “It’s okay. I’ve had my heart broken too. It hurts like a bitch, but the pain will ease.”

“Thanks.” he sniffled, “I’ll just.. I need to go.” and then he was pulling away from his reach and all but bolting out the door, unable to be near Jon or Jacobi a moment longer. Martin left the hospital a mess of tears and blotchy redness, for once not caring who saw. 

Peter Lukas contacted him that night.


End file.
